Ordinary diners who take part in our annual survey each spring review restaurants and leave their feedback, but we also ask them to score restaurants from 1-5 on food, service and ambience. Harden’s then uses an average of these scores and measures them against other establishments in the same price bracket to arrive at the ratings published in the guide and online.

Snippets from some of your feedback may end up in the overall Harden’s review, noticeably they appear in “double quotation marks”. The rest of our pithy, bite-sized restaurant summaries are compiled by analysing the survey data and extracting recurring themes, looking at whether or not a venue was nominated in any of our categories – like ‘favourite’ or ‘most overpriced’ – and, of course, looking at the ratings for food, service and ambience.

The Harden’s ratings indicate that a restaurant is:

exceptional very good good average poor

All reviews are compiled from survey comments and ratings, without any regard for our own personal opinions, except in cases where restaurants are too new to have been included in the survey. If you want the editors’ view on new restaurants in London you can find them in our Editors’ Review section.

Leeds Restaurant Guide

Harden's Guides have been compiling reviews of the best restaurants in Leeds since 1998.

Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Leeds

Hardens guides have spent 15 years compiling reviews of the best Leeds restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 147 restaurants in Leeds and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Leeds restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.

Really a breath of fresh air  this very popular Indian continues to take Leeds by storm, with the pure and excellent tastes of its Keralan cooking (wonderful fish and dosas). Packed on a Monday night in February: says it all!

Theres no let-up in the praise for the exceptional and fresh veggie cuisine offered by this stalwart Gujarati (a former Ramsays Best Restaurant finalist); shame about the relocation out of Bradford a while back, but by all accounts the roomier venue is worth the schlep.

Well-established, and completely on top of its game  this city-centre outpost of the well-known Yorkshire chain delivers no surprise but ticks all the boxes for Indian cuisine and is always a delight.

Watch the cooks behind the glass in the kitchen, at the original Chapel Allerton branch of this Thai chain  now fifteen years old  which is nowadays expanding beyond its Yorkshire origins. Limited feedback this year, but fans say its the best Thai in Leeds.

2014 Review: Despite the proliferation of steakhouses and grill restaurants in Leeds in recent times, this remains THE go-to for steak frites; from the lovely atmosphere, to the excellent-value authentic French food, this Gallic spot is still a real all-round hit, especially with the business set.

From the team behind Belgrave Music Hall, this innovative venture incorporates a fancy Grillworks grill, responsible for its funky charred and smoked (but clean-tasting) fare. An amazing ice cream selection is another draw  and being part of Headrow House you can continue your evening in the beer hall, on the roof terrace, or checking out a live band.

Pizza, pasta, gelato!  when it comes to good Italian fodder in a great atmosphere this Headingley stalwart cant be beat, and their new café/deli a few doors down is also a super spot for lunch. Love or loathe the TV chef, Gordon Ramsay was right... this f-Word winner is flippin good!

Good spicy cuisine  not least the popular Sichuanese options, which it specialises in  ensure the popularity of this northern mini-chains city-centre basement outpost, complete with 1920s Shanghai-esque decor.

Price£42

FoodVery Good

ServiceVery Good

AmbienceGood

10. The RelianceBritish, Modern restaurant in Leeds 76-78 North St - LS2

What a surprise  buzzing bar below, perfect pub dining upstairs, with a varied menu (combinations I would not have thought possible), incorporating home-cured charcuterie as a highlight. All this and a pint of Beavertown Neck Oil and you cannot possibly go wrong.